Fear And Loathing
by Lucky Strike's alter ego
Summary: She only knew that she was like him. She had his cold eyes and morals. She could be cold and cunning like him at times. She shared his hatred of humans. She even shared the same abilities that he did. She believed in the brotherhood. The only thing she didn't know was how different she was from him and she was bound to find out when she runs away to the mutant school. Cyclops/OC
1. Prologue

"You're a coward, nothing more, nothing less." She told him with a harsh coldness to her tone. The old man looked down upon her and he was proud despite her anger towards him. She was fierce, powerful, and beautiful. She reminded him so much of her grandmother, he thought sadly.

"Are you so sure, my dear?" He asked her with a sense of doubtfulness. The young girl crossed her arms and glared at him. Her blue, almost gray, eyes reflected himself. Those eyes that so were identical to his own. She scoffed.

"You tried to kill him! You tried to kill him knowing how much he means to me… How much I love him." He scoffed.

"He was holding you back, my dear sweet Annabelle, he was holding you back from your full potential." She looked at him in disbelief.

"Potential?" She cried in disbelief. "How does he effect my so called potential?"

"That ignorant, little boy has always held you back. He whispers sweet nothings in your ear in hopes you'll follow him blindly but you don't have to anymore. You are meant for so much more, you could be the answers to all our problems. You could be the queen all the mutants look up to."

"And what good is that if I'm alone… Like you?" He stared at her coldly.

"He tries to control you but he can't and it won't be long before he'll realize that." Anna glared at him.

"You're pathetic!" She hissed. "You are absolutely pathetic. I thought you out of all people would understand." Her blonde curls bounced off her shoulders with each word she spoke in anger. Eventually the tears began to leak from her eyes.

"You used to be surrounded by the people who loved you. Your best friend, wife, and children. You threw them all away like they meant nothing to you." He gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Silence!" She shook her head violently.

"I will not be silent! Everyone around you dies! When will you realize that? But you'll throw them away when it's too late, won't you? You've thrown me away too and I'll probably die shortly." He shook his head silently.

"I won't let you and you won't walk away either, my dear. You can't because you know everything that I've been saying is right. You want to join the brotherhood again because we're both alike and we both know we're better off alone." She clenched her fists in anger.

"You're lying!" He gave her a doubtful look.

"Am I really?" She tried to convince herself that he was lying, that he was nothing but a lying betrayer of trust. But she knew, deep down, that he was right.

"I'm nothing like you."


	2. Beyond The Brotherhood: Chapter One

**Dayton, Oregon **

White Ceilings.

That was all that was there as she opened her eyes for the first time since she had been shoved into the small, constricting space. It felt like days since she'd first been shoved in but in reality it was most likely half an hour.

She felt the water slosh around the elegant, white bathtub as she shifted her legs. The water was cold but not painfully so and the tub was filled half way but still enough to drown her if she decided to lay down flat. She tore her gaze away from the ceiling and glanced at the sides of the tub. She eyed the pair of precise finger nail scratches and noticed the blood still bleeding from her raw fingers. She wrinkled her nose at the sight of blood. The way it trailed after her fingers in streams of red clouds.

She still sat in the murky water completely clothed, she saw no reason for herself to get out. She knew he wouldn't be back for another five hours at the most. She also did not feel like moving, she was scared that he'd be back if she did. He scared her more that she would like to admit.

The girl sighed before resting her head against the side of the tub. Maybe if she just closed her eyes for a bit, he'd never come back. She knew this wasn't true but couldn't help but hope. She lifted her leg up from the water and examined it without even having to move her head. She grimaced at the large purple bruise on her leg. It looked like she'd be wearing jeans tomorrow at school instead of her usual style which consisted of skirts or sundresses since it was near summer.

She felt heavier in the water with her clothes on but in a way it was nicer. She didn't have to look vulnerable and paranoid and feel it too. With one last sigh, she dragged herself out of the tub.

* * *

By the time the girl reached the school she was more than glad she wore jeans that day. It was absolutely freezing, so much that she could see her own breath. She should've known better than to expect any more of Dayton weather. The small girl shoved her hands into her jacket pockets as she made her way across campus. Dayton Junior High was small, as small as any middle school in a small town could be. The school needed a serious paint job but over all… It needed to be bull dozed and a new school had to be built from the ground up. She nervously bit her lip before making her way to first period.

The curly haired blonde had to ignore the stares and laughter as she walked down the hall to her first class. She unconsciously tugged on the hem of her sweater and pretended not to hear them as she walked along.

"Freaky Lehnsherr!"

"Go back to hell where you came from, Witch!"

"Stupid Mutant!"

She honestly tried to block it out but it was near impossible so instead she just walked into her classroom and took a seat in the back. She closed her eyes.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Can anyone tell me who William Shakespeare was?" The boring teacher asked. The girl still sat in her seat staring blankly at the wall in front of her to pass time. It was pouring rain outside and the sound of constant patter on the roof annoyed her.

"Brent?" A boy sitting up front with a basketball sweat shirt and cute dimples looked up. Brent was Dayton's golden boy but along with that title came ignorance. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Uh… Wasn't he like the writer of that Leonardo Dicaprio movie?" The history teacher rolled her eyes.

"No, that was a movie based loosely around the timeless play by Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet." She smiled at Brent before looking at the rest of the class. "There, I gave it away! He was a writer. Now can anyone tell me what other plays he wrote?" No one raised their hand, all the seventh graders looked bored out of their minds. The teacher suddenly noticed the small, blonde haired girl staring off into space and scrunched her nose up in disgust.

"Lehnsherr!" The teacher called but the girl barely looked away from the wall, she only glanced at the teacher from the corner of her eye.

"Yes?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"What are the other plays Shakespeare wrote or were you too busy staring off into space?" The girl finally tore her eyes away from the wall to look at the middle aged teacher. The teacher almost shivered as those cold blue, almost gray, eyes watched her. The teacher silently reminded herself to not show fear, it was what the mutant wanted after all. The teacher lifted her head up in false confidence and waited for the reply.

"Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, Macbeth, Midsummer Night's Dream, and Julius Caesar. Is that possibly a good enough answer?" The girl's voice was quiet, soothing even but at that moment it sent shivers down the entire classroom's back. They wondered if that was one of her mutations. The teacher's nose wrinkled in repulsion as she looked down upon the thirteen year old child. So arrogant, so disgusting. She thought because she was a mutant that she knew everything. The teacher didn't understand why the school let _her _attend. She was a danger to the other students around her, she was an abomination.

"You think you know everything?" The older lady sneered. The young girl felt a sinking feeling in her stomach while watching the teacher's hateful, disgusted glare casted down upon her. "Let's see how much you know when I see you in detention after school. Feeling cocky now, Lehnsherr?" The entire class snickered at her misfortune and she looked down at her desk shamefully, her nails digging into the wood trying to control her powers.

"No, Miss Bower." Miss Bower smirked at her mutant student.

"Good, now pay attention." Miss Bower moved on and began a lecture about the Protestants. The young Lehnsherr glared at her desk. It just wasn't fair. It wasn't fair how the normal people taunted her when she was far more powerful than they could ever be. She could do things they could only dream about. She should be the girl sitting in front row surrounded by people who adored her, who worshipped her, people who would shower her with gifts and balloons on her birthday, people who would follow her all day in attempt to be able to call her their friend. Instead, she sat in the back of the classroom with not a single friend, forced to suffer through disgusted glares, and eyed like an animal. It was then when she realized that she might have hated normal people. She hated those humans. She hated them so much. They thought her kind was so disgusting and repulsive, she wished that they'd all die. How she would love to watch them burn.

* * *

Outside the school campus stood a group of odd people, if there was anyone to look they would have ran screaming in the opposite direction. On one end stood a red skinned man with a long tail, he looked demonic and on the other side of him stood a blue skinned woman with scales covering her blue skin. Her hair was almost a copper color and sleeked back, her eyes a glowing yellow.

In the middle stood a man who looked like a great deal of importance and probably the most human looking out of all of them. He wore a long, flowing black cape and wore similar attire. Though the most odd thing he wore was a helmet, not a normal construction helmet or anything like that but a… Metal helmet, unlike the rest of his outfit, the helmet had a maroon tint to it. The man screamed power and control. He was an older man, judging by the wrinkles on his face and his gray hair poking out from underneath his helmet. His cold blue, almost gray, eyes looked upon the scene coldly. Although he wore a serious, frowning face, you could tell he could also smile from his laugh lines probably from his youth.

"When will we be snatching her?" Azazel asked, his voice full of eagerness. Erik Lehnsherr, better known as Magneto, didn't even bother to glance at him.

"We will not be snatching her." He said harshly. "She will only come with us on her own free will." The blue, shape shifting woman, Mystique, raised an eyebrow.

"And if she doesn't?" Erik smirked.

"Oh, she will, trust me."

* * *

She let out a sigh of relief as she walked out of the doors of the school building after detention. She couldn't describe the relief that she was finally done with her day of school and she was exhausted. She almost skipped down the side walk as she left the campus but stopped mid step. She had almost forgotten… Her father. She suddenly felt very sick. She wouldn't just be returning home from a day of school but she'd be returning home to her father which was worse than school. The teen looked over her shoulder and glanced at the school longingly before groaning and continued walking in the opposite direction.

She wished that there was at least one day in her life that she could escape her father and her life at school. To escape the repulsion and hatred of normal people, people she couldn't help but envy from time to time.

The blonde immediately stopped walking when she heard a sudden snap in the distance. She whipped her head around and stared into the forest about a hundred feet to her right. The forest was a creepy place. Green, tall, and not to mention dense. She couldn't even see far into it. She stared into the tree line but when she heard nothing else she continued walking. Snap. She stopped again and looked into the forest but it was just the same as it had been a few seconds ago.

Without giving it a further thought, the girl walked towards the tree line. She was confident, if the need arose, that she could protect herself. She was a mutant and a very gifted one at that, whatever was playing games with her had no idea what they were dealing with.

Her pace was slow and cautious, you never knew what was waiting for you in the forest. Once she stepped into the tree line she felt relieved. She would just have to walk around a bit more to check things out. It was probably a coyote or a deer she heard.

Her heart was pounding against her chest as she walked around the dense woods. Tall trees surrounded her, blocking a lot of sunlight if there was any in the first place. The soil beneath her converse was still moist from the afternoon shower and sunk under her weight. No animals were in sight and that was how she knew something was wrong. Where ever there weren't birds chirping in the trees, no squirrels snacking in the trees, there had to be trouble nearby. She was about to turn around and get away from there when she saw him.

The man who would save her life and nearly destroy it at the same time.

He was an older fellow, with creases around his eyes and mouth. He had laugh lines probably from constant laughter in his youth. He was dressed oddly, more odd than she had ever seen in Dayton Oregon. He dressed in black attire with a long, black cape that flowed down past his feet so that it rested on the ground yet it didn't look dirty. But what was odd over all… His helmet. It was a type of weird metal helmet with a maroon tint to it, it looked both heavy and ridiculous to her. She wanted to laugh but somehow she couldn't bring herself had gray hair sticking out from under his metal helmet. He must have been around sixty, he had to be. His eyes were solely on her and never before had she felt as insecure and nervous as she felt in that moment. His eyes were a cold blue, almost gray, color. She couldn't place it but she swore she had seen those eyes before.

The man gave her a wide smile, almost sinister grin. His cold eyes sparkling, reflecting amusement, concern, and curiosity all at the same time. His voice was like his eyes, cold but soothing, as he spoke.

"Annabelle Aubrey Lehnsherr. How lovely it is to finally meet you."

Anna furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at the old man. How did he know her name? Well, she thought to herself, this is a small town. All you had to do was ask someone and you could know any town member's life story.

"I prefer Anna." She told him softly. Erik raised an eyebrow at the small, curly haired, blonde girl. She was rather short and slim with the figure of a ballerina. She could very well be one for all he knew. Her skin was pale from the dreary Oregon weather and she wore layers of clothes which was suspicious even for Oregon. Her eyes were the same as his, blue… Almost grey. She had soulful eyes, eyes that not only looked at you but through you. Erik could recall one person he knew that had the same effect on people. He focused back on the girl before he let his thoughts drift to _her _again.

"You really shouldn't go confirming your name to strangers in the woods, my dear." Anna gave him a confused look. He wasn't from around here, that much was obvious from his accent. Maybe she shouldn't have confirmed her name.

"It's Dayton Oregon. What could possibly happen?" She hoped the nervousness in her voice didn't show. Erik chuckled at Anna. So she was naïve, he would have to change that for the better.

"The same kind of things that could happen anywhere else." Anna didn't know what to think about with that answer. The old man was right. Dayton was like any place else, funny that she hadn't thought about that before. Anna narrowed her eyes.

"Who are you?" He smirked at her.

"Erik. Erik Lehnsherr."

Anna furrowed her brows in confusion. Why did he just say that? Her name was Lehnsherr too.

"Lehnsherr?" He chuckled.

"Yes, Lehnsherr and I do believe we are related." Anna crossed her arms. How did this man find her? How could he possibly be related to her? It wasn't her fault. It was a little hard to believe but an old man whom she meets in the forest one day, tells her how they're somehow related all the while wearing a ridiculous helmet. She's bound to find it a little strange.

"We are, are we? And how are we related, _Erik Lehnsherr?"_ Erik smiled a bit at her tone. She reminded him all too well of someone from a while ago.

"You, _Annabelle, _are my granddaughter." Anna's eyes widened, mostly, in shock and disbelief. What did he just say?

"What?"

"I said I'm your grandfather." Anna shook her head.

"You're just a crazy, old man I met in a forest a few minutes ago. What makes you so sure I'm your granddaughter." Erik didn't say anything for a moment, he only smiled. Even her confused and panicked expression brought back old, faded memories. Memories he wished to forget. He knew that would never be possible, he could never forget even if he wanted to.

"Do you know what you are, my dear?" Anna narrowed her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. She had just about had enough of this old loon.

"If you're here to taunt me just because I'm a mutant then-" Erik immediately grinned.

"Ah, so you do know." Anna rolled her eyes.

"Well, how could I not? I'm reminded every single day." Erik frowned at that. "How did you know I'm one of them?" Erik smiled again, taking a step towards her. Her innocence was endearing, just like _hers _was when he first met her.

"Because, Annabelle, I'm one of them too." Her expression was a bit confused before, using the metal bracelets on his wrist, he lifted himself into the air using his powers. Anna's once confused expression immediately turned to shock as she watched the old man fly up into the air. He slowly came back down, landing on the ground with so much ease that it astonished Anna.

"You can fly?!" She exclaimed. Erik chuckled, watching the young girl's astonished expression.

"No, but I can using these metal bracelets around my wrists. I can control metal, you see, it's my power." Anna's eyes immediately widened in excitement.

"No way! I have the same power too!" Erik's eyebrows raised in surprise but he still managed to keep a composed expression. He knew she was a mutant, he saw it through Cerebro. Do not ask how he managed to get in his friend's school to have that access to Cerebro. He was only lucky he had a very powerful shape shifter on his side.

"Really?" Anna nodded, her face still lit up with excitement. It made him a little sad to see that wonderful smile, a smile he had spent years without. He'd almost forgotten what that smile looked like. Erik knelt down on one knee to reach her height, looking into those matching cold, blue eyes.

"Why don't you show me, then?" Anna frowned, her once excited smile vanished.

"I would but… I can't. Sorry." Erik matched her frown with his own.

"Why not?" Anna looked down at the ground sadly, ashamed to look him in the eyes.

"My dad told me not to." Erik felt a surge of anger sweep through him. Those meddling, repulsive humans. Always have to nose their way into things. How he would love to strangle that so called dad of hers!

"He's not your father." Erik told her bluntly and she glared at him.

"I know that! I know I'm adopted! But that doesn't mean I can do whatever I want. He tells me that enough times as it is."

"I meant that he's not your father if he doesn't let you embrace your true self." Anna raised an eyebrow.

"But my powers can get dangerous." Erik nodded, resting his hand on her right shoulder.

"That might be true but you also have to know to embrace them. If you never try then you'll never know." Anna gave him a small, sad smile.

"He also told me that the devil possesses me that's why I have these powers." Erik felt the rage pulse inside of him. He knew all too well about unacceptance of humans and he knew that they would never accept them, it was the truth. He learned this a long time ago.

"Now, Anna, I think we both know that's untrue." Anna nodded once, looking down at the ground again.

"I know but it still hurts."

"What does _he _know? He's just a human. He can easily be taken down." Erik sighed before continuing. "Someone once told me that humans fear what they don't understand but I think that fear turns _them_ into the monsters, not us." Anna stared at him not knowing what else to do while Erik waited patiently for her to reply. It wasn't until a few silent minutes went by when something happened. Erik felt an odd sensation at his wrists and looked down to investigate.

His Bracelets.

He watched as his metal bracelets removed themselves from his wrist and began to float away. It was truly astonishing. Truly astonishing that his granddaughter would share the same exact powers as him. Erik tore his gaze from the bracelets and watched Anna concentrate, she was undoubtfully focused on the two bracelets. She, then, moved the bracelets back towards him and locked them back around his wrists.

"I can do more," She said through the almost unbreakable silence. "But only when I'm angry or sad." Erik nodded in understanding before a smile crossed his face as he thought of something. He needed to pick this conversation up and fast too.

"What if I told you, Annabelle, that I could teach you how to use your powers, not only when you're upset, but whenever you want to." Her eyes widened in surprise.

"What?" He chuckled.

"Yes, I can teach you everything you wish to know about yourself… If you come with me." Anna stared at him. This man, she just meet not so long ago, was asking her to leave the only place she knew as home to go with him and learn about her powers. This was crazy.

"But this is crazy, I just met you. I don't really know anything about you and this is my home… I can't leave." Erik rose a brow at her statement.

"Your home, Annabelle? All the humans in this place treat you like trash. Even your adoptive father does. They don't appreciate your gifts, your superiority to them. We're mutants, we band together and not with the humans. If the humans had their way we'd all be living in concentration camps by now." Erik pulled up his sleeve to reveal the faded tattoo on his wrist. Anna gasped as she realized what the brand meant, she had learned about it in history but never thought she'd actually meet a survivor.

"They would kill us because they can't stand to be the inferior race. I could teach you all you want to know about your powers and they will regret treating you the way they did. They're just filth on the bottom of our shoes waiting to be stepped on." Anna met his eyes, blue meeting blue.

"You won't get mad at me for using my powers?" Erik smiled and shook his head.

"No, of course not, I'll encourage it."

"And there are a lot of others, aren't there? I've seen the riots on the news. "

"There are hundreds, maybe even thousands. I'll introduce you to some of them, the most brilliant of creatures this world has to offer."

"And I won't ever have to see this place again? I won't ever have to feel vulnerable, useless to… Humans?"

"You won't ever have to come back. You'll be a part of the most superior race the world has come to know, you'll be part of the brotherhood… Just take my hand." Erik whispered the last part softly, holding out his hand for her to take.

"No more hiding." He added. Anna swallowed and took a step forward, contemplating her decision. Everything he said sounded amazing even though she didn't even know this man, just what he told her. He may or may not have been her grandfather but he made the most interesting points. He spoke of this life for people like her and it sounded like true paradise, a paradise that was just waiting for her. She didn't have to live in the fear of being hated anymore, she could meet people just like her and even be encouraged to embrace her powers. No more suppression and no more hiding. Without another thought, Anna reached forward and put her hand in Erik's.

"Tell me more." She stated and he smiled. She was so close to giving in but she wanted to be sure that she would be making the right choice. She needed to know that this was the best thing out there for her.

"Azazel!" He shouted a moment later and with a poof of red haze, a tall red skinned man stood in front of them. His dark hair strongly contrasted against his flaming red skin and… He had a tail. He had a tail, Anna repeated to herself in her mind. With all the years spent with her father calling her the devil, she would've loved to see his face in front of this guy who looked like the fallen angel himself.

A woman also appeared next to the red skinned man and she too had an exotic skin color. Her skin was a midnight blue with various scales appearing all over it, she was also unclothed. Someone must be confident with their body, she noted to herself. Her hair was red, a copper kind of color, and sleeked back. Anna noticed her glowing yellow eyes and couldn't help but be astonished by them, she had never seen eyes quite like that before.

"Uh… Hi?" Was all Anna could manage as Erik began to introduce her to the two mutants.

"Annabelle, I would like you to meet my friends. Azazel," He said gesturing towards the red skinned man before turning towards the woman. "And Mystique. Azazel can teleport places and mystique is a shape shifter." As to prove him right Azael vanished then appeared again right next to her, causing the young blonde to gasp. Mystique shape shifted into the exact identical clone of Anna, smirking at her. Anna was left blown away by these sudden events.

"Humans won't accept them for their gifts. Humans are disgusting, gutless little creatures that destroy everything they don't understand. They will never accept us… But I accept the both of them." He said, shooting Azazel and Mystique a smile in which they returned.

"And they accept me, we accept each other because that's all we have left." Erik turned away from them, casting Anna a long look. She stared long and hard at the man who claimed to be her relative, hanging on to his every word.

"Times are getting darker, Annabelle, this war has gone on long enough. We, mutants, need to band together and fight this raging war against the humans." He, then, laughed humorlessly. "Some of our kind would like to believe that humans will one day accept us, Annabelle, that the humans and our kind can live in peace with each other." Mystique and Azazel laughed together as Erik shook his head.

"This is a lie. We cannot live in peace with the humans. Why should we? We are superior to them in every way. The others are just too naïve to believe in anything else." He stared Annabelle straight in the eyes.

"You've seen what the humans are capable of. You've seen what they've done out of fear, firsthand. Please keep that in mind in making your final decision." Annabelle blinked. She knew what her father was capable of, what he had done to his own daughter even if she wasn't by blood. They were scared, she understood that, but it didn't give them the right to act so cruel. She swallowed, pondering over her last final choice.

"Because once you take my hand there is no going back. We'll train you right off and you'll be a part of the brotherhood." Annabelle stared at him blankly. It was a tough decision for a thirteen year old to make… Which was why she hoped she made the right one. Anna took a deep breath before taking a step forward and placing her hand in his. Erik smiled down at the small blonde girl. Perfect.

"No more hiding." She told him. Erik led her over back to Mystique and Azazel, both of whom closely watched the brand new addition to their team. He grabbed Azazel's hand firmly, still holding his grand daughter's hand in his other hand. Anna saw an outstretched blue hand out of the corner of her eye, causing her to turn. Mystique grinned down at her and Anna felt slightly better about her decision.

There were people who were like her, people who understood her. Anna returned her smile and grasped the shape shifter's hand tightly.

"Mutant and proud." Mystique announced grinning as they faced the line of trees. The ghost of a smile crossed Magneto's face at the familiar statement. But those were memories from an all too distant past.

"You know where, Azazel."


	3. Beyond The Brotherhood: Chapter Two

She was shocked by her grandfather's house… Or rather Island. Her grandfather apparently owned a fairly large island with some sort of underground mansion. It was elegant but spooky at the same time, it was the only way she could describe it. It was dark and almost seemed cave like but it was still beautiful in its own ways. She even had her own wing of the mansion to herself! She never even had her own bathroom to herself back home.

The company wasn't completely amazing, she had to admit. Her grandfather introduced her to Toad, a man with a disgustingly long tongue and terrible manners, and Sabretooth, who her grandfather described as a feral, meaning his abilities could be compared to that of an animal. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing. They weren't terrible but she didn't like the feel of them either. Toad was sinister with an ulterior motive while Sabretooth was just deadly. She decided that she would stay away from the both of them unless her grandfather had anything to say about it. She had, however, gotten along extremely well with Mystique but there always seemed to be a glimmer of sadness in the shape shifter's eyes whenever she was around her. Anna couldn't explain it.

Her grandfather was an easy man to talk to. They understood each other on different levels having both been mistreated by humans in their lives. They shared an equal hatred of the human race, it was something they conversed about many times. Although, there were some things that weren't as easy to talk to him about. Her grandmother for example. It was a question that ran through her mind numerous times because he grandfather didn't seem like the kind of man to be in a relationship. He'd avoid or ignore the topic, never really yelling at her for her curiosity. She remembered the day she came across the painting in the library that really sparked her curiosity.

She had been searching the library for a book to read since her grandfather, Azazel, and Sabretooth went on a mission out of the country. Toad was who knows where and Mystique was also in the library to keep an eye on the young blonde. Erik didn't trust Toad around Anna alone. Mystique really didn't mind staying behind, she rather enjoyed Anna's company. The blonde's company often reminded her of another blonde.

Anna stared at the painting in curiosity. The colors were so vibrant yet sad in an almost unexplainable way. A woman stared at Anna in the painting though Anna didn't feel creeped out, just curious. The woman's hair was a pale blonde, almost the same shade of Anna's. Her skin was a fair but pale porcelain color that made the woman appear almost ghost like. She was rather thin and frail looking but the bright smile on her face made her look like the most beautiful woman in the world. It was a truly beautiful smile showing off the woman's pale pink lips. All her features were beautiful, ordinary even, but the one trait that made the woman stand out in a more than beautiful way was her eyes. Her eyes were an inhumane color. A topaz or gold, not as strikingly yellow as Mystique's eyes, no these eyes were warm and inviting. Her eyes were unique, Anna felt a bit envious over the painted woman's eyes, Anna's eyes were a cold, dull blue, maybe they were grey. It was hard to tell but the woman's eyes were so bright and warm, the complete opposite of Anna's.

"Anna?" Mystique's voice called out. Anna had soon grown accustomed to the echoing voice of the shape shifter in the time she had been living on the island. "Anna? Where are you?"

"I'm over here." Anna replied and not a minute sooner, Mystique walked out of an aisle of books to join Anna. She appeared to not of seen the painting.

"I was worried Toad got you. I would've ripped that disgusting tongue right out of his mouth." Mystique was about to continue on her rant when she noticed that Anna's attention was already captured. Mystique followed her gaze and sighed when she saw the painting.

"Oh," She said after another moment of silence. "I forgot that this was in here." Anna, still staring at the painting, finally spoke after long silence.

"Who is she?" Mystique smiled at the curious blonde before returning her gaze back to the painting. Memories on top of memories flashed through her mind as she thought back to the past. Sometimes it hurt too much to think of the old times but sometimes it made her feel happy and not so empty inside and alone.

"An old friend." Anna tore her gaze from the painting, giving the shake shifter a questioning look.

"No, who is she, really?" Mystique sighed once more, resting a hand on Anna's shoulder. The hair, the face, the laugh all made Mystique hallucinate but the eyes, the expressions, the personality, and the hatred brought her back to reality.

"Aubrey Wells." Anna raised an eyebrow.

"Aubrey as in my middle name Aubrey?" Mystique nodded sadly.

"You were named after her… Your grandmother. Wells was her maiden name, her real name was Aubrey Lehnsherr." Anna's eyes widened in shock before looking back and forth between the painting and Mystique. The blonde in the painting was her grandmother? The same one her grandfather was so mysterious about?

"_That's_ my grandmother?" Mystique smiled at the girl's shocked condition. Maybe she was more like Aubrey than I thought?

"Yes, of course." Anna swallowed, running a hand through her blonde locks. She couldn't believe the woman in the painting was her grandmother. Somehow Anna had formed a different picture of her grandmother in her mind. She never imagined a woman so beautiful and so kind looking to be her grandmother.

"But she's… She's-"

"Beautiful?" Mystique offered and Anna nodded.

"And warm. I just pictured her to be someone completely different."

"You thought she'd be cold looking?" Anna turned back to stare at Mystique. Mystique nodded, laughing in amusement.

"Probably because of your grandfather, right?" Anna nodded again. She wasn't the only one, Mystique thought to herself. Plenty of others, herself included, wondered how someone so gentle and kind, maybe even weak, could be in the arms of such a ruthless mutant like Magneto. It was still a question left unanswered today.

"Aubrey wasn't cruel or coldhearted, Anna. Aubrey was the most kind, loving, and gentle creature I've ever known. She loved humans in her own way." Anna noted the way a certain light glimmered in Mystique's eyes as she spoke.

"She wasn't capable of hurting someone, much less killing them, unless she had to at least." She paused for a moment.

"She was my best friend." Mystique confessed. Mystique went over memories of when she was younger with Aubrey. Glimpses of waitressing at Oxford crossed her mind, along with memories of stolen wine, obnoxious laughing into the night, painting each other's toe nails, all the while teasing each other about boys. She remembered what it felt like to be a normal teenage girl on top of the blue exterior, she remembered forgetting about her mutation and having fun. She realized all the good times she ever had in her life were with Aubrey, she now knew how empty and cold her life had become also because of Aubrey. Aubrey was a part of her that she could never get back and Mystique might've hated her for that.

"If she loved humans then how come she was with grandfather?" Anna's voice finally broke Mystique out of her thoughts. Her yellow eyes fixed on the young girl with a certain sadness embedded with their glowing depth.

"I don't know." Anna furrowed her brows in confusion.

"You don't know why they were together?" Mystique shrugged, glancing at the painting before turning away from it.

"Not really. I just knew that they had a mutual attraction and he decided to act on it." Anna didn't look any less confused.

"Is that why you're part of brotherhood? Because she was with him?" Mystique smiled.

"It's part of the reason but mutants shouldn't have to hide either." Anna gave the shape shifter a long and suspicious look.

"If you were in this mainly for her then why are you still here?" Mystique's smile immediately faded and was replaced with a frown.

"That's a story for another time." And with that Mystique put her hand on Anna's back immediately leading the blonde out of the library before she could even utter reply. Anna glanced back over her shoulder, wondering what mysteries lay beneath the woman's painted surface.

* * *

Anna reached out at the small coin, trying with all her might to move it but it just wasn't happening. The coin wasn't large, it was some form of German currency which she wasn't familiar with. She gritted her teeth as she clenched her fists but, still, nothing seemed to work.

Erik watched closely from behind her, observing her skills but remained stoic. The coin she tried to move brought up unwanted memories for him but he wanted to observe her trying to move the first object he ever tried to move. A coin, though this coin didn't need carry any hatred or death with it. He briefly wondered if his coin was still on that island in Cuba, somewhere buried deep within the sand over time. Or if the CIA obtained the coin after stuffing Shaw's corpse into a body bag.

He decided that it no longer matter what happened to Shaw or the coin and continued observing his grand daughter's best efforts. Anna starting making a whining sound, as she strained herself, trying to move the coin. Deciding that enough was enough, Erik held his hand out and the coin swiftly flew into his palm. Anna looked crestfallen, staring at her shoes in shame.

"I tried, grandfather, I really tried." She said quietly. Erik didn't say anything for a moment, being reminded of the time when he tried too.

"I just couldn't do it and I don't understand why." Tears flooded her pale blue eyes. "I did it before. Remember? I don't get why I can't do it now." Erik walked slowly up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She didn't want to meet his eyes, afraid that if she did she'd only find disappointment.

"Perhaps it's because of your intention?" This time Anna did look up though in confusion.

"Intention?" Erik shrugged and briskly paced the room calmly.

"You were intentionally trying to move the coin instead of just doing it based off of instinct."

"But didn't I do it intentionally that day in the forest? I remember wanting to show you what I could do. Was that not intentional?" Erik smirked but continued pacing while Anna stood confused beyond belief in the center of the room.

"Precisely. Though it was intentional, emotion also accompanied your will to use your power." Anna raised an eyebrow. "Excitement, joy, and surprise most likely. But, tell me, what do you feel now?" Anna shrugged still as confused as before.

"I don't know. Frustration?"

"Exactly and frustration is not something one should group with their powers, trust me." Anna nodded, starting to get what he was saying.

"So you're saying that I need a strong emotion to use my power?" Erik nodded, turning back to face her with small smile.

"Accompanied with will, yes." She swallowed, thinking through everything he told her. So emotion is what it took? Not just a strong will but to have a reason for that will.

"What kind of emotion?" Erik smiled at her again, once again taking his place against the wall to instruct her.

"What's the strongest one you can think of?" Anna thought it through carefully, scared that she might mess up the answer. She didn't want appear as ignorant as Toad to her grandfather, she wanted to be as smart and clever as Erik. When she finally came up with her answer, an elated grin spread across her face.

"Anger." Erik clapped his hands together excitedly. He was proud of her, though she was still a child, she could still answer questions that not even most adults could. She was a wise one.

"Now what's the strongest point of time you've felt anger?" Her eyes briefly widened, he could tell she already knew. He wanted to know what it was but this wasn't the time. He was teaching her how to learn her powers, not counsel the girl.

"You have a memory picked out, Annabelle?" Anna nodded in an almost nervous fashion. Whatever the memory was, it seemed to put her on edge.

"Good. Now I want you to use that memory and combine it with your will." Anna nodded. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, and reached out for the coin again. She allowed her mind to drift back towards that one memory. The memory that made her feel vulnerable, weak, and even worthless. She knew how much she hated it and how much her hatred filled her with an undisguised anger.

* * *

_She pretended to be asleep, snuggled underneath all the covers. She had to have an extra blanket for warmth since Aaron, her stepfather, refused to pay for heating. It was the only time in her life, it felt like, that she could have peace. At night when he was passed out drunk and Courtney, her mother, was watching one of the late night shows. She would lay awake for hours beneath her covers allowing her mind to be consumed by an over flowing amount of thoughts. She felt warm, secure, and loved in her bed._

_Anna started to feel herself drift off when she heard something in one of the other rooms. It sounded like yelling mixed with cursing and an added amount of thumps. She uneasily shifted in her bed still in her sleepy state._

"_That's enough, Aaron, don't talk about that anymore!" A woman's voice hissed in a low voice. Anna's eyes shot open as she heard her mother's voice. That was odd. Her mother's voice was usually so soft and calm but now it just sounded strained and… Scared? _

"_How can I not talk about this, Courtney? You heard what the principle said?!" Anna raised her head off the pillow in confusion, slowly sitting up from the bed and walked nearer to the door. _

"_I know what the damn principle said! It doesn't mean anything though!" Anna heard a scoff as she pressed her ear to the door, trying better to hear the argument between her mother and Aaron._

"_He said that your daughter is a FUCKING MUTANT!" Anna gasped and jumped away from the door and not from Aaron's tone. Did… Did he just say she was a mutant? She heard about the riots in the news but she didn't know much else about them besides that they were people with strange powers. She actually thought they were kind of cool. She never thought she, herself, was mutant though._

"_I know, I know, Aaron, but we can work through this. I don't understand what the big deal about this is though." _

"_Big deal? BIG DEAL?! She's a fucking freak! You heard what she did to that kid at school. He had a broken leg and arm." Anna felt her heart drop. _

"_It was an accident. I don't think it's something Anna can control, Aaron, she was hurt and angry. I'm sure she hadn't meant to do it." _

"_So the kid called her a freak and she made the jungle gym collapse on top of him? Accident? Something unintentional? Oh, I'm so fucking sure, Courtney!" She did that? She hurt Liam? Sure, she was angry at him for teasing her but she thought the jungle gym was a pure coincidence. She never thought that she did it? She couldn't have done that, she couldn't be capable of doing something like that._

"_There's a school for kids like her, Aaron, we can send her there and she can learn to control her powers. You don't have to blow this out of proportion." She heard Aaron snort._

"_What? So she can learn how to use her powers against us? No thanks. Maybe a good beating might work better. It's better than sending her to some whack job school so she can come back later and kill us in our sleep." Anna's eyes widened in fright. Aaron had been mean to her before, rude even, but he had never laid a single finger on her. She knew he could though, he was more than capable of doing so._

"_Calm down, Aaron! She's just a little girl."_

"_Fuck, Courtney! I don't know what bullshit she's been feeding you but that _thing_ in there, ain't no little girl. No, that's the devil." Anna gasped, tears flooding her eyes. How could someone say such a thing?_

"_Stop it, Aaron!"_

"_Tell me, Courtney? Who was her father?"_

"_What? I don't-"_

"_Who's her god damn father?! Tell me! Was he a mutant like her, satan's spawn, too?"_

"_No, no!" Courtney cried, obviously scared. "He was a good man, I swear I didn't know."_

"_He was a mutant!"_

"_I didn't know until we were married. I swear!"_

"_Listen here-" He started but immediately stopped when he heard a sound echo through the house. In her tears, Anna had taken a step back on a creaky floorboard causing a loud creak to be heard through the house. Anna jumped as she suddenly heard pounding footsteps along stairs leading to the second floor. She quickly tried to make an escape to the closet but she was too late. Not a moment later, Aaron burst through the door almost knocking it off its hinges in rage. Anna's eyes widened in fear as she noticed the anger in his eyes, he pointed his finger at her practically shaking._

"_You little bastard!" He charged towards her, Anna backed up quickly but she wasn't fast enough. He grabbed a hold of her shirt and lifted her up, his hands quickly moved and clasped around her throat. He only laughed._

"_You thought that you could eavesdrop on us? Coming up with a plan to kill us all, are you?" Though she couldn't speak, Anna quickly shook her head._

"_No, I don't believe that. Tell me, what you're planning." She didn't say anything, her eyes only filled with tears. Aaron didn't like the silence. "WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING?!" He screamed and she flinched. His grasp tightened around her throat and she started choking, no air seemed to come her way. She could hear the faint cries of her mother who was absolutely helpless in a situation like this._

"_Demon! Tell me what evil possesses you!" At that point, Anna could slowly start to feel herself lose control. Anger, hurt, and confusion all boiled up inside of her until it reached a breaking point. All metal objects suddenly, as if it were magic, started rising from the ground, trembling and shaking as if the inanimate objects were furious. The house, that's foundation's contained metal, also began trembling. Aaron, bewildered, slowly lowered the girl to the ground and withdrew his hand from her throat. He glanced around the room in shock as Courtney cried, begging for mercy for her young daughter. Anna curled up into a ball on the floor, bawling into her hands, wishing with all might for everything to stop and it did. The various objects dropped to the ground just as quickly and the house, too, lowered to the ground as if nothing had happened. Aaron finally came to his senses and looked back at the quivering girl on the floor. His nostrils flared and his eyes widened with rage as he took a step forward._

"_Aaron Stop!" Courtney cried helplessly. Taking a deep breath, in attempt to control himself, Aaron took a step back._

"_Fine." He said, bitterly, but held up his hand. "But this isn't over, freak." He stormed away from the room, leaving Anna and her mother at opposite sides of the room in tears._

_What was wrong with her?_

* * *

Anna's eyes flashed open, her stormy eyes dark with anger and hate. She was different now. She was so much more different than that little girl curled up on the floor. She had the chance to make humans like Aaron suffer as he made her suffer. She could hurt them like they hurt her but only if she could learn to use her powers. This man, tall and powerful, was the one person that could give her this chance and she needed to take advantage of the opportunity he gave to her. She needed to follow him because he was the first person to believe in her, the first person to understand her.

So as she held out her hands again for the coin, using the rage and hate embedded inside of her, she was able to move the coin as swiftly and gracefully as he had.


End file.
